Merwin Kimball Hart (NYC)

064-07-0484; B: 06-25-1891 or 1881; d: 11-30-62

John Birch Society chapter leader who founded first JBS chapter in New York City. 

HQ 100-128996, unrecorded 2/8/50 article by Frederick Woltman in NY World Telegram and Sun, “Red-Hater Don Levine Swings At Right, Hits Hart As Anti-Semite” refers to 2/50 article in Plain Talk magazine by Levine which claims that Hart’s National Economic Council “is in the business of merchandising anti-Semitism.  And, he wraps his contraband in packages bearing the labels of free enterprise, anti-Communism and Christian love.”

Levine states that Hart’s 12/15/49 Economic Council Letter concluded that  “the controlling influence in the world” was “Zionists” which Levine characterized as part of Hart’s 2-year campaign to create the myth of a “Zionist-Communist global plot” which ignores the fact that Communist Russia was the first modern power to outlaw Zionism in 1920 and thousands of Zionists have been sent to Soviet slave labor camps, many of them to perish.

HQ 62-104705, #unrecorded is 1/23/59 memo from M.A. Jones to Gordon Nease [Robert A. Winston file] which pertains to FBI contacts with Herbert Philbrick and Robert Winston concerning 39 anti-communism TV programs which Philbrick was involved with in conjunction with Washington Video Productions.  Merwin K. Hart was the Vice-President of the organization backing Philbrick and Winston i.e. Counteroffensive Against Subversive Communist Activities (CASCA = 21 N. Broadway, White Plains NY).  The memo observes on page 2: 

“Hart, of course is well known to the Bureau and was subject to a security type investigation conducted from 1942 through 1948.  This revealed that he was pro-Fascist, pro-Franco, and was sympathetic to America First Group.  Hart has been President of the National Economic Council since it was founded in 1930…It has been described as strongly pro-Franco and ‘fascist’.  It has also been termed as violently anti-labor and has make (sic) reckless attacks against the United Nations.  On October 16, 1958, the Director received an invitation from Hart to attend an informal dinner on November 5, 1958…in honor of Philbrick.  An in-absence reply declined the invitation.  At that time, Mr. Tolson indicated ‘I think we might warn Philbrick’ and the Director agreed.  Mr. Nease spoke to Philbrick and tipped him off on the background of Hart and the National Economic Council.  Philbrick said he had met Hart through Robert Winston who wrote the book, ‘The Pentagon Case’, which is mentioned above.  Philbrick said that Winston is interested in gaining some backing for a television program entitled ‘World War III’.  Through Winston, Hart had offered to sponsor the program.”  At bottom of memo Clyde Tolson hand-wrote:  “We should have nothing whatever to do with Winston or with any project with which he is connected” and Hoover wrote “Right”

Among the directors of the NEC were:

• Charles G. Dawes, former VP of the U.S. and in 1945, Chairman of the Board of City National Bank and Trust Co – Chicago.
• John J. Raskob, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and VP of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. plus a director of General Motors

Thomas Creigh, former general counsel of Cudahy Packing Co was Vice President of Hart's National Economic Council

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